Rockalina tortoise meets a member of its own species for the first time in 48 years

The Rockalina Turtle has had a transformative year.

When the wildlife rescue team first noticed it in the back February, she wasn’t sure she would last through the night.

After living on a kitchen floor in New Jersey for nearly 50 years, the Eastern box turtle had developed ingrown nails, multiple deformities and dry, loose skin. She was so weak that she could not even keep her eyes open.

But 11 months later, she is thriving in a wildlife sanctuary, enjoying the sun and eating insects and berries.

And now, for the first time since he was rescued from the jungle in 1977, he has a companion of his own species – A little baby turtle named Pebble,

“They’re doing well,” said Chris Lyons, Rocklina’s caregiver. as it happens Host Nil Koksal. “They’re a lot of fun to watch.”

‘It looked like a mummy’

Leon is the founder of Garden State Tortoise, a New Jersey reptile breeding and rescue facility. He first met Rocklina about a year ago, when a woman approached him for help.

Her husband’s aunt and uncle had recently died, He said, And she was unsure what to do about the turtle that lived in their house.

He said the creature ran the house, but primarily lived in the kitchen, where he believes it mostly ate cat food.

He told Leon that the couple’s son had found the turtle outside when he was a boy in 1977 and had taken it home. He had a disability that prevented him from caring for his new pet, so the responsibility fell on his parents.

“Now, There was no one to really take care of the turtle,” Lyon said.

But he says Eastern box turtles are not meant to live in homes. They are natural forest dwellers, preferring tree cover, plenty of moisture and ponds for soaking.

“The linoleum kitchen floor can’t be more than this animal needs,” Lyon said. “The animal looked like it was dead. It looked like a mummy.”

The hard kitchen floor caused Rocklina’s finger bones to grow “up and back,” he said.

“This caused the nails to grow in the exact opposite direction and completely curl to the point where they actually started growing back into her feet,” he said.

Her beak was deformed, her skin was pale and flaky, and the cat’s hair was matted around one of her legs, restricting blood circulation.

“We thought the leg would have to be removed,” leon sHelp. “Once we got her in good shape, we discovered that although the leg would always be sore, it didn’t need to be amputated and she could actually use it to get around.”

path to recovery

Over the past 11 months, the Garden State Tortoises Rockalina’s recovery documented on YouTubeWhere he got a lot of fans.

Because she’s doing so well, the staff decided it was time to give her a friend. Lyon says Eastern box turtles live in colonies and it’s important for them to socialize with their own kind.

Enter Pebble, a brand new turtle born in the facility just for Rockalina. Leon says the couple looks to be having a blast.

In their observed interactions so far, they seem curious about each other – sniffing each other and craning their necks to get a better look.

“Curiosity is a good trigger to let them know that they’re feeling good,” Lyons said.

Lyon urged people not to remove turtles from their natural habitats. But he says it is too late to release Rocklina back into the wild, where she will be unable to protect herself from predators.

So the staff are doing their best to keep him as happy as possible for his remaining days, of which there may be many.

“Believe it or not, she could be gone for another 50 years.”